Dinka Tuich cooking pot
Other views of this artifact:
Accession Number:
1979.20.98
Country:
Sudan
Region:
[Southern Sudan] Northern Bahr el Ghazal ?Dhangrial ?Wun Rog ?Mayen
Cultural Group:
Dinka Tuich
Date Made:
By 1979
Materials:
Pottery
Process:
Handbuilt , Fire-Hardened , Decorated , Impressed
Dimensions:
Ht = 272, rim diam = 172 x 145, maximum W = 304, rim th = 6 mm [RTS 3/8/2005].
Weight:
> 1000 g
Local Name:
tony that [tony thät]
Other Owners:
Purchased by Patti Langton for £1 on 22nd February 1979 as part of the British Institute in Eastern Africa's Expedition to the Southern Sudan [RTS 14/5/2004].
Field Collector:
Patti Langton
PRM Source:
Patti Langton
Acquired:
Purchased 1979
Collected Date:
22 February 1979
Description:
Cooking vessel, also used by small girls to carry water, hand made from a moderately well levigated clay, soft fired a mottled red and black across surfaces inside and out (Pantone 7695C and 4715C).
It has a markedly oval plan view, and consists of a narrow, flattened, upright rim on a very short broad neck, that flares concavely out to a globular body with convex sides and base.
The surface has been smoothed around rim and neck, while the body below has been covered with a shallow impressed design, said to be made with a potter's roulette.
This consists of a narrow horizontal band around the upper shoulder, then denser coverage of the rest of the walls and base below.
The impressions have been smeared in places, probably as the vessel was being turned and the roulette was applied.
There is a strong rancid smell, a whitish residue to the interior, and a layer of surface sooting on the exterior, suggesting that the vessel has been used.
It is complete and intact, with a weight in excess of 1000 grams, a height of 272 mm, rim diameter of 172 by 145 mm, and maximum width of 304 mm; the rim is 6 mm thick.
Purchased by Patti Langton on 22nd February 1979 for £1, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan. The place of collection was not specified, but would have been either Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen, all of which like in the modern administrative district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.
The local term for this vessel is tony thät; Nebel defines Thât as ‘cook for somebody', and tony thät as ‘cooking pot’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 86). It was used as a cooking pot, while small girls also used it to carry water.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
Purchased by Patti Langton on 22nd February 1979 for £1, as part of the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the southern Sudan. The place of collection was not specified, but would have been either Dhangrial, Wun Rog or Mayen, all of which like in the modern administrative district of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. For a map showing the distribution of Dinka Tuich groups, see J. Ryle, 1982, Warriors of the White Nile: The Dinka , p. 25.
The local term for this vessel is tony thät; Nebel defines Thât as ‘cook for somebody', and tony thät as ‘cooking pot’ (Nebel 1979, Dinka-English Dictionary, p. 86). It was used as a cooking pot, while small girls also used it to carry water.
Rachael Sparks 25/9/2005.
Primary Documentation:
Accession Book Entry
[p.
185] - 1979.20 (.1 - 206) P[urchase] MISS PATTI LANGTON, DEPT.
of ETHNOLOGY & PREHISTORY, OXFORD.
Collection made by Patti Langton during the British Institute in East Africa's expedition to the Southern Sudan; Jan.
- April 1979.
The collection was made in three culture areas during the dry season.
The amount paid for each object is listed if the information is known.
In Jan.
1979 £1 is equivalent to 95 piastres (pt.) Sudanese.
This documentation is based largely upon Patti's own list of objects and her notes on these.
Sometimes objects included in the Pitt Rivers alottment of the collection do not appear on her list and have been added here.
See Related Documents file as well.
[p.
191] 1979.20.43-135 SOUTHERN SUDAN the DINKA TUICH.
The Dinka Tuich, a pastoral people, live to the north of Wau, in Bahr el Ghazal province.
This collection was made mostly at Dhangrial, the archaeological site at which we camped.
Other artifacts were collected either at Wun Rog, a small town about a mile south of Dhangrial, or at Mayen, the new administrative centre 12 miles north.
This was a remote area, difficult of access and rarely visited by outsiders.
The Dinka are very aware of the potential of money, which is used either to help family members acquire education or entry into commerce and administration in Juba or Khartoum.
Once it was known we (the collectors) were offering money, the Dinka in surrounding compounds came daily, increasing prices as often as they could! [p.
199] 1979.20.98 Cooking pot,
toyn [sic] that
, also used by small girls to carry water.
H = ca.
26 cm., L.
opening = 16 cm.
Coll.
22.2.79; £1.
Coll.
no.
236.
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F22-1 A5-F34-16.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 5/4/2004].
Written on object - 236 [white chalk, inside walls]; S. SUDAN DINKA. P. Langton Coll. 236, 1979.20.98 [white ink on neck ext., RTS 3/8/2005].
Related Documents File - 1979.20 contains a typed packing list, which has been annotated; a typed list of objects arranged by Langton collection numbers and with pencil and biro annotations, and a handwritten list of objects by museum number, essentially repeating this information and annotated with PRM photo numbers in red. This handwritten list seems to be the direct source for the accession book entry [RTS 6/1/2004].
Additional Accession Book Entry [below accession number in red biro] - A5-F22-1 A5-F34-16.
Card Catalogue Entry - There is no further information on the catalogue card [RTS 5/4/2004].
Written on object - 236 [white chalk, inside walls]; S. SUDAN DINKA. P. Langton Coll. 236, 1979.20.98 [white ink on neck ext., RTS 3/8/2005].
Related Documents File - 1979.20 contains a typed packing list, which has been annotated; a typed list of objects arranged by Langton collection numbers and with pencil and biro annotations, and a handwritten list of objects by museum number, essentially repeating this information and annotated with PRM photo numbers in red. This handwritten list seems to be the direct source for the accession book entry [RTS 6/1/2004].
